


The Ace-ing on the Cake

by SailorChibi



Series: Aro-Ace Valentine fics [15]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Identity Reveal, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Makes Puns, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Angst and Fluff, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Asexual Adrien Agreste, Asexual Character, Asexuality, Chat Noir and Marinette Dupain-Cheng friendship, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Get Together, Gray-Asexual Character, Gray-Asexuality, Happy Ending, Identity Reveal, Love Confessions, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug puns, Mentions of Sex, Pining, Plagg Is So Done (Miraculous Ladybug), Requited Love, Secret Identity Reveal, Sexual Orientation, Sexuality is hard, adrienette love confession, discussions around sexual orientations, gray-asexual Marinette Dupain-Cheng, i know there's a reveal how shocking, identity reveal by way of pun, ladynoir love confession, mentioned bisexual character, ml identity reveal, puns, supportive adrien agreste, supportive marinette dupain-cheng, teens figuring things out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 20,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22500217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: Adrien and Marinette never could have guessed that one weekend would lead to so many revelations.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Aro-Ace Valentine fics [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/621745
Comments: 282
Kudos: 1072





	1. Candy

**Author's Note:**

> Every year for Valentine's day, I write fics about aromantic and asexual people. Being aro-ace myself, I know it's a tough holiday. Typically these fics are one-shots, but this year I decided to do the MLValentine's2k20 challenge and combine the two. This fic will have fourteen short chapters, posted once daily until Valentine's, on both AO3 and tumblr.

“I’m telling you, man, it was awesome.” Nino sighed dreamily and rested his chin on his hands. Adrien looked on with quiet amusement, attention torn between Nino’s increasingly loud sighs and the English worksheet that they had only half filled out.

“So you’ve said. Many times,” Adrien said when he realized Nino was waiting for an answer. “But what exactly was so awesome?” He could hazard a guess – that was Nino’s ‘Alya is the woman of my dreams’ face – but sometimes it was easier to just get Nino to talk it out than it was to listen to him privately dwell on whatever had happened when they were supposed to be studying.

Nino glanced around to be sure no one was close enough to overhead, then leaned over to Adrien and whispered, “Alya let me get to third base last night. It was _epic_.”

Third base. Adrien tried not to let his confusion show too obviously, but, after a beat of silence during which Nino stared at him expectantly, he caved. “I don’t know what that means.”

By way of answer, Nino grinned lewdly and held up a hand. He wiggled his fingers. “I got my hand in her panties,” he said excitedly.

“Oh. Uh, congratulations?” Adrien said awkwardly, uncertain of what else he was supposed to be saying. He didn’t know what that had to do with third base, but quickly jotted down a note on the corner of his worksheet so that he could look it up later. 

“And then she put her hand in my pants,” Nino added, smile widening until it stretched from ear to ear. 

“Great,” Adrien said, bobbing his head.

“But you wanna know the best part?” Nino said.

“Uh, sure?”

“Alya said she liked it, which means we can do it again!” Nino pumped his fist in the air. “Maybe someday soon, we’ll get to fourth base.”

“Good for you,” Adrien said politely. He didn’t know exactly what fourth base was either, but he could guess. And if his guess was right, the conversation was swiftly moving from awkward to uncomfortable. Not that he wanted Nino to know that, but he’d overhead the things the other boys in their class said in the locker room. He did not want to listen to a play-by-play of Alya and Nino’s sexual activities.

“Yeah…” Nino said, sighing again.

“Sorry Nino, I just remembered I have to talk to Madame Mendeleiev about my science project before class starts. I’ll catch you later.” Adrien gathered his things together and stood. He wasn’t even sure that Nino noticed him leaving.

He really did have to talk to Madame Mendeleiev, but Adrien’s mind was hardly on science. He remained quiet for the rest of the day, and for once was glad that he had to leave immediately after school for his Chinese lessons. Then it was straight home for supper and homework, so it was after eight by the time Adrien was finally alone in his room with nothing to do.

He sat at his computer and did a little research. As expected, fourth base was sex. Specifically, penetration. The site he was on even provided some helpful diagrams and a few… less helpful pictures. Adrien wrinkled his nose, staring critically at the screen. He just didn’t get it. Body parts weren’t sexy. They just weren’t. Looking at that pair of boobs was no more exciting than looking at an elbow or a knee. And it wouldn’t matter whose boobs they were. It just didn’t have an impact on him; it never had.

“Do you think there’s something wrong with me, Plagg?” Adrien asked, shoulders slumping.

“Oh kid, the list of things wrong with you is long and detailed,” Plagg said with a snicker.

Adrien rolled his eyes. Okay, he’d walked into that one. He swung around in his chair and stared at his kwami with narrowed eyes. Plagg merely smirked in return before grabbing a wedge of Camembert and cramming it into his mouth. He chewed loudly and expressively, which made Adrien wrinkle his nose as crumbs of Camembert promptly flew all over his bedspread.

“Could you not be gross for like two seconds? God, Ladybug is so lucky… her kwami likes candy,” Adrien said.

“Tikki’s also a goody-goody. You’re better off with me,” Plagg said, letting out a loud burp.

“Uh huh,” Adrien said dryly. He bet Tikki would’ve been a lot more helpful right now, but he wasn’t about to say as much and provoke Plagg into an argument. So he turned back around and looked at the screen again.

Boobs, butts, thighs, legs… none of it interested Adrien the way he thought it should. Nino could pop a boner if Alya’s skirt rustled in the breeze. He often bemoaned the fact that he was constantly horny. Adrien wasn’t even sure that he understood what horny meant. He knew the definition, of course, but physically? Emotionally? Mentally? Nothing. He’d never gotten excited because of a girl – or because of a boy, for that matter.

He didn’t understand what Nino meant when he said he wanted Alya, or even when he said that Alya was sexy. Sure Alya was pretty, but what did sexy even _mean_? Adrien let his head drop to the desk as he realized that he didn’t know. Ladybug was beautiful, but the thought of having sex with her hadn’t really crossed his mind. He just didn’t think about her like that. He wanted to take her out on dates, cuddle with her, maybe even kiss her a bit… but sex?

Eww.

“I am a bad person. I’m clearly broken,” Adrien muttered, lightly thumping his forehead against the desk. What was wrong with him? He was sixteen-years-old for crying out loud! Sex should be the only thing he was capable of thinking about! It sure seemed that way for Nino, Kim, and many of his other classmates.

Maybe he just wasn’t trying hard enough? He sat up and went to the Ladyblog, where the most recent post featured plenty of pictures of Paris’s favorite superheroine. The most popular picture was one of Ladybug caught mid-air, one arm held aloft and the other outstretched with her yoyo in hand. Her legs were tensed in preparation for landing, back curved, with that captivating look of utter determination in her eyes. Adrien could admire those blue eyes for a long time.

Yet when he looked at the comments, some of them were very sexual. Alya didn’t allow anything too explicit or sleazy, but she didn’t always delete comments that made note of or complimented Ladybug’s body. Adrien glanced at a couple of them. Most of them talked about Ladybug’s breasts. He looked at the photo again. It was true that the position of her body meant that Ladybug’s chest was thrust forward. But he didn’t see why that was such a big deal. They were her breasts. So what?

“You know, Ladybug wouldn’t be too pleased to know you were ogling her chest,” Plagg said right in Adrien’s ear.

Adrien jumped about a foot in the air. “What?! No! I – I wasn’t – that’s not –” he stammered, mortified and realizing that Plagg was right. Ladybug would be furious if she knew. She regularly complained about the double standard of male versus female superheroes and hated the way the media sometimes commented on her developing body.

Plagg cackled. “Maybe I should let her know next time I –”

“Plagg, claws out!” Adrien yelped. Anything to get his kwami to _stop talking_. 

One flash of green light later and Chat groaned, hastily closing out of the Ladyblog site. That had been a huge bust. It didn’t seem like he was going to come to any conclusions tonight, and he sure didn’t want to keep staring at Ladybug that way. He sat there for a moment and then looked down at his transformed self, deciding that a run might help him to clear his head.


	2. Love

Paris was quiet, and so, after about an hour of wandering around aimlessly, Chat found himself a spot to sit by the Seine. Like any self-respecting cat, he had a healthy dislike of water, but he found the river soothing to watch and listen to. And right now, that was exactly what he needed since running around on the rooftops hadn't helped as much as he'd hoped. He settled on the bank and stared down at the water. He didn't know how long he'd been there for before a soft voice called out to him.

"Chat Noir? Is that you?"

Realizing that he recognized the voice, Chat turned quickly. Sure enough, Marinette was standing at the top of the bank. He blinked up at her, surprised to see her out so late. Then again, it was a Friday and he didn't think Marinette's parents were as restrictive as his father was. Her parents seemed to encourage Marinette to go out and have fun, whereas Gabriel did whatever he could to keep Adrien confined to the house. His father would've had a heart attack if he'd known that his son was out after nine, especially without his bodyguard.

"Are you okay?" Marinette asked, her eyebrows furrowing. She left the path and made her way down towards him, moving careful on the slippery, dew-coated grass.

"I'm fine," Chat said, realizing a beat too late that he had been quiet for too long. He shook his head at himself. "Hi, Marinette." He was too exhausted to get up and posture in front of her the way he normally would’ve. A passing thought that she’d be disappointed cut deep, but Chat didn’t move.

"Hi," she said with a small smile, arriving at his side. "I saw your hair from the path and thought there might be something wrong. There's no akuma around, is there?"

Chat shook his head. "No, nothing like that. I just needed some space from my - from my family, that's all." He'd been about to say _from my life_ , but that probably wasn't something you were supposed to say.

"Do you want me to go?" Marinette asked.

"No! No. I didn't mean it that way. Please, sit. You know, if you want to," Chat said, waving at the ground beside him. He didn't know if Marinette would want to risk getting grass stains on her clothing. She was wearing a pink blouse and a black skirt with black boots. But she sat, rearranging her skirt around her legs until she was satisfied, and then rested her hands in her lap.

"I've never sat this close to the water before. It's peaceful down here," she observed.

"It's nice when you need a break," Chat agreed. 

"So..." Marinette didn't look at him, just gazed out at the water. "You doing okay?"

He'd already told her that he was fine, but evidently Marinette could see right through that. He wrestled with himself for a moment, wondering if it would be wise to say anything. Marinette and Adrien were friends, but not overly close. It was very unlikely she would put two and two together. And he knew that Marinette would be nothing if not kind, which was exactly what Chat needed right now. Transformed, he could confide in her so long as he was careful not to say anything that would risk his identity. That was not an opportunity he got very often.

"I don't know," Chat admitted. "I... I love Ladybug... but..."

"But?" Marinette coaxed when he fell silent.

"One of my friends was talking about his girlfriend today," Chat began hesitantly. "About how they, um... how they got to - to third base." He flushed a little.

Marinette's cheeks turned pink, so she clearly knew what that meant, and she nodded. "Okay. I'm with you so far."

"Well, it made me start thinking about how even though I love Ladybug, I never think about her that way... and it's making me wonder if I really love her if I don't," Chat blurted out. It felt good to voice the worry that had been brewing in the back of his head. "I don't really want to have sex with her, but that's what people who are in love do, right? So that must mean I don't really love her... and that hurts." He finished in a choked whisper that he wasn't even sure Marinette could hear, but he couldn't bring himself to speak any louder. It was shameful enough just saying it out loud.

He was a little scared to look at Marinette after making his admission, but as the time stretched and she didn't say anything, Chat had to know. He took a quick peek and was startled to find that she was staring at him with wide eyes and parted lips, like she had gone to speak but the words had escaped her at the last minute. There was nothing in her expression but surprise, but Chat immediately felt uncomfortable. He hurriedly looked away and, wanting to fill up the awkward silence, kept talking.

"It's not just Ladybug either. I don't feel that way towards _anyone_. Not my classmates, not the people I work with, not any celebrities. Men or women, I don't find myself wanting to have sex with anyone and I don't understand why. It seems so easy for everyone else. Ni - my best friend is crazy about his girlfriend, and he's always talking about how much he loves having sex with her and how sexy she is. It just hit me today that I've never felt that, and so I went home and got on my computer and I was looking at the Ladyblog and if I can't feel that way towards my lady, then I really can't feel it towards anyone, and what does that even mean? It means I'm broken!" He inhaled deeply, breathless from his outburst.

Fortunately, that seemed to snap Marinette out of her stupor. A soft hand immediately rested on Chat's arm. "Chat, of course that's not what it means," she said fiercely. "You're not broken, okay?"

Chat smiled faintly. "You're too kind," he mumbled.

"I'm not just being kind! It's the truth. Not wanting sex isn't a bad thing," Marinette said. "And... and I don't think it means you love Ladybug any less, okay? Just because you don't find her... sexy." She blushed again. "Frankly, Ladybug might even find that a nice change of pace... there's a lot of perverts out there who like her costume a little too much." She muttered that last part under her breath, but Chat heard it anyway.

He shook his head in disagreement. "Ladybug wouldn't want a relationship with someone she could never have sex with. No one would," he pointed out.

Marinette frowned. "You don't know that. Have you ever asked her?"

"No!" Chat said, horrified by the very idea. "Besides, it doesn't matter. She doesn't like me back."

"Right," Marinette said, blinking, and looked away. "Right, of course not."

Silence fell between them again and Chat sighed. Finally, he said quietly, "I just don't know why I can't be like everyone else."

"I'm sorry," Marinette whispered. 

"It's not your fault," Chat said. "But thanks for listening. It means a lot." He stood up.

"Of course. Anytime." Marinette was slower to rise, dusting off her skirt. She had that look on her face that he had come to recognize during the time they'd spent together as Marinette and Adrien: she had something she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure how to say it. Whatever it was, Chat didn't think he wanted to hear it tonight. He was suddenly overwhelmed, and wanted nothing more than to hide under the covers for a while.

"Do you need an escort home?" he asked.

"What? Oh, no. The bakery is close," Marinette said. "I'll be okay."

"Then I'll bid you _bonsoir_ , Marinette." He bowed to her and then jumped into the air, landing in a nearby tree, then jumped again. Naturally, he followed her as she made her way home to make sure that she got there safely. It was after dark, after all. Only once he'd seen her pass safely through the bakery doors did he turn and head for the mansion.


	3. Flowers

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

Plagg was quiet for a long time. Too long. Adrien glanced up as he finished making his bed – most people assumed that the servants did that, but Adrien had always taken care of cleaning his own room. It was something he’d doubled down on after getting a miraculous: he couldn’t risk having Plagg be discovered by a well-meaning maid. Bad enough Nathalie sometimes gave Adrien a weird look when she noticed a stash of Camembert.

“Plagg?” Adrien said.

“You know what, you’re right,” Plagg said, seemingly coming to a decision. “You bought the flowers and you should give them to her.”

Adrien narrowed his eyes. “You’ve been trying to talk me out of this for the past hour. What’s changed?”

“Nothing,” Plagg said in a way that meant something definitely had. “Shouldn’t you get going?”

Much as he wanted to press for details, Adrien realized that his kwami was right. “Plagg, claws out!”

Once transformed, he carefully picked up the bouquet of flowers he had purchased for Marinette last night on his way home. Usually his luck was purely of the not-so-good variety, but Ladybug must have been looking out for him as he’d passed over a florist that was still open. The delighted woman had been very helpful indeed, putting together a colorful bouquet of chrysanthemums and hydrangeas. She’d reassured him that both flowers meant gratitude and thanks.

He tucked the bouquet under his arm and jumped out the window, taking a shortcut across the roofs towards the bakery. It was early yet, just after ten, so he knew that chances were high that Marinette would still be at home. She might even still be in bed since, according to Alya, Marinette hated getting up early and loved to sleep in. She and Ladybug had that in common. 

Chat alighted on the balcony outside Marinette’s room and crouched down. There was a curtain drawn over the window, so he knocked and waited. No answer. He knocked a second time, just in case Marinette was there and hadn’t heard him, but still nothing. He looked down at the bouquet and decided to leave it on her chair. She wouldn’t know it was from him since he hadn’t included a card, but Marinette was smart enough to realize how few people had access to her balcony.

But no sooner had he set the flowers down on the chair than the curtain rustled and Marinette’s face appeared. Her eyes bugged out in surprise when she saw him; Chat smiled weakly and waved, realizing that Plagg had probably been right. He was wondering if it would be better if he just left when the frame rattled, and then the window popped open and Marinette stuck her head out.

“Chat Noir? What are you doing here?” she asked in astonishment.

“I just… I wanted to say thank you for last night,” Chat said. 

“Last night? I didn’t do anything,” Marinette said, scrunching her nose up the way she always did when she was trying to figure something out. Chat couldn’t help smiling.

“Sure you did. You listened to this silly cat when no one else was around. That means a lot to me,” he admitted, feeling a little awkward. “So I got you these.” He picked up the bouquet again and held it out.

“Oh…” Marinette’s lips parted with a breathy sound of shock, but she said nothing else as she climbed out onto the balcony to join him. She was wearing sneakers, jeans, a pink t-shirt, and a pink apron that had a few smears of chocolate on it, and he belatedly realized she must have been helping her parents in the bakery. 

She took the bouquet and slowly opened the paper. Chat watched her face closely as she took in the blue and pink flowers – blue for her eyes, and pink because he knew it was her favorite color. Something in her expression seemed to soften, and, when she looked up at him again, it was with a gentle smile that brightened her tired eyes and made Chat’s heart stutter a little too hard.

“Thank you, Chat Noir,” she said. “They’re beautiful. But you really didn’t have to get me anything. I was happy to be a friend when you needed one.”

“I appreciate that,” Chat told her, meaning it more than she could ever know. He had precious few friends, and even fewer that he could’ve talked to the way he had to Marinette last night. Nino was completely amazing, but Chat just didn’t think he would understand.

It helped that he knew Marinette would never tell another soul, even though her best friend ran the Ladyblog and would go bonkers for a scoop like that. As both Adrien and Chat Noir, he had to be so careful about who he shared things with – he’d learned that the hard way. For a moment he wished he could detransform and repeat everything he’d said last night, but this time be able to say it as Adrien.

That wouldn’t work, though. For one thing, he couldn’t tell anyone who he was. For another, Marinette could get weirdly tense around Adrien sometimes. He had yet to fully work out why. He just knew that he couldn’t bear the thought of her being weird when he was sharing something so private. 

His mission complete, and assuming Marinette was busy, he turned to go. He was startled when a small but strong hand gripped his wrist, stopping him before he clear the railing. Chat turned, startled, and saw Marinette had closed the distance between them in a blink. She didn’t let go, either. Her expression was pure determination, like she was going to say what she wanted to say no matter what.

“You know,” Marinette said. “You could talk to Ladybug, I bet. She’s your friend.”

Chat blinked at her, then shook his head. “No, I couldn’t.”

“Yes, you could! She wouldn’t think less of you!” Marinette argued. “And… and you said it yourself, right? She doesn’t like you that way, so it doesn’t matter…” She trailed off when his ears and tail drooped and bit her lip.

“It’s true that my lady doesn’t love me back,” Chat agreed, forcing a smile. “But I still couldn’t tell her this. She doesn’t want to know any private details about me. We don’t talk about anything important.” It was true, but he also didn’t think he could admit this to Ladybug on the off-chance that someday she decided to reciprocate his feelings. If that ever happened, he would figure out what to do about the sex thing then.

Marinette looked slightly perturbed. “You talk like you think you’re not important,” she said, as though baffled, and Chat cocked his head.

“Well, that’s because I’m not,” he said. “Ladybug has _way_ more important things to think about. From the way she talks, she has great friends and good parents and a really busy schedule. She barely has time for akuma attacks sometimes! She gets really mad when Hawkmoth sends an akuma when she’s trying to do something else…” He smiled genuinely this time.

“But she’s _your_ friend too,” Marinette persisted. “She would listen. She would help you to understand that it’s okay, believe me.”

“Maybe,” Chat said politely, not wanting to argue anymore, but also knowing there was no way in hell he was bringing this up to Ladybug.

Marinette pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “Come back here tonight.”

“What?” Chat said, startled.

“I have to thank you for the flowers,” Marinette said. “They’re way nicer than what I did for you. So come back after dark. I’ll be waiting.”

“Marinette –”

“You better not keep me waiting long!” she interrupted, walking back to her room. She climbed back through the window and slammed it shut. Moments later, the curtain was sharply drawn across.

Chat stared at the window, dumbfounded. He was pretty sure he had inadvertently offended Marinette, though he had no idea how. And he was almost afraid to show up tonight… but he was no longer sure he had a choice in the matter.


	4. Secret Admirer

Adrien spent most of a bright, beautiful, sunny Saturday working indoors at a modeling job. His father's newest line was being released shortly and that meant Adrien's time was in high demand. It was something that he had slowly grown used to, but that made it no less exhausting. He was pleased when the photographer motioned him off-set, giving him a chance to sit down and rest his aching body. Holding poses for long periods of time was a lot harder than people realized, and it was even more difficult when you were working with other models.

"They're finished with you for today, Adrien," Nathalie said from behind him.

"Really? I thought they want to get shots of the last outfit?" Adrien said, hardly daring to hope that he might be permitted to leave a bit early. He wanted to go home, shower, eat and feed Plagg before he went to Marinette's.

Nathalie shook her head. "Your father has decided that the last outfit needs modifications," she said mysteriously. Even if Adrien asked for details, he knew she wouldn't give them to him. Gabriel Agreste trusted next to no one when it came to the creative process, not even his own son. 

"And they don't need me for any last-minute retakes?" Adrien pressed.

"Your shots came out fine. Some of the other models will need to retake a few, but none that you're in," Nathalie said, consulting her tablet. "If you want to stick around, you can. Otherwise, I can call your bodyguard and have him take you home -"

"I'll go home!" Adrien said quickly, jumping up. It was amazing how energized he felt now that he knew he didn't have another two hours of work ahead of him. 

"Then go change," Nathalie said, her lips quirked in what might have been a faint smile.

Adrien obeyed, hurrying towards the changing room before anyone changed their minds. He allowed the wardrobe people to carefully remove his outfit, then got dressed and headed for the door. The Gorilla was waiting outside with the car; Adrien climbed in and gave a quiet sigh of relief as the car pulled away from the curb, leaving the stuffy building, tense models, yelling photographers, and hovering assistants behind. At least working for several hours had given his brain a break from dwelling on the problem at hand.

He didn't know why he'd never acknowledged this before, and he wasn't even sure why it was bothering him so much now. Maybe it was because Nino and Alya had never been quite this hot and heavy sexually before - or at least, if they had been previously, Adrien had never had to hear about it with any great detail. Or maybe it was because he was a little older now and the reality of how Ladybug might slip through his fingers was staring him in the face. Or maybe it was just because Adrien was tired of being alone, tired of pining after someone he couldn't have, tired of life conspiring against him to make everything he wanted impossible...

"Oh my god, stop with the maudlin thoughts," Plagg said as soon as the door to Adrien's bedroom was safely shut.

"If I give you Camembert, will you let me sulk in peace?" Adrien said, chucking his bag in the general direction of the desk.

Plagg contemplated that for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, but I still don't see what you're moping _for_."

"Of course you don't. The only thing you want in life is cheese," Adrien said. Plagg was lucky that way, he reflected as he walked over to the mini fridge. Cheese was a lot simpler than people were.

He took out half a wheel of Camembert, more than enough to keep Plagg satisfied while they were at Marinette's, and left it on the desk. The sound of Plagg's gleeful cheering behind him did make him smile a little as he headed into the shower. At least he could make Plagg happy, even if he would never be able to make Ladybug happy. Well, scratch that. Maybe it was time to give up on any thought of the two of them ever being more than friends. _That_ would make Ladybug happy, though the mere thought made Adrien's heart ache in protest.

A long, hot shower didn't do much to soothe his brain, but it sure helped his sore muscles. Adrien felt like a human again as he emerged and dried off, then got dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He ran a hand through his hair, fluffing up the dampened ends, and then wandered back out into the bedroom. As expected, the Camembert was completely gone. Plagg was snoring away on the desk, little tummy now rounded with cheese. Adrien shook his head fondly and grabbed his cell phone, sticking it in his pocket.

“Plagg, wake up. I want to go,” he said. The sun was just setting, but by the time he got to Marinette’s it would be dark. He poked Plagg gently.

Plagg snorted awake, blinked, and then moaned. “I was having the most beautiful dream. I had a secret admirer that kept leaving me Camembert.”

“As opposed to real life, where you get it all the time?” Adrien said. “Claws out!”

Chat leapt out the window and headed right for the bakery. As he grew near, he was surprised to see that Marinette was out on her balcony. She was reclining on her chair, laptop balanced on her knees. There was a pink blanket, likely handmade, wrapped around her shoulders to ward off the chill that came up this time of year when the sun set. An empty mug of hot chocolate rested beside her right foot.

She looked up just as his boots touched the balcony floor, and Chat froze. Even though he had been invited, no, _ordered_ to come back, he was suddenly struck with the feeling that he had done something wrong by returning. He and Ladybug usually made it a point to not spend too much time with civilians just in case Hawkmoth got the wrong idea, and this would be the second night in a row he’d seen Marinette…

But before he could flee, Marinette set her laptop aside and stood up. “You came.”

“You, uh, told me to?” Chat said.

Marinette wrapped her arms around herself, looking slightly guilty. “Ah, I didn’t mean to be bossy. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I just… I don’t know why.” He looked at her expectantly. 

“I think… I think I need someone to talk to too,” Marinette said, staring at the floor as though it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

That was not what Chat had expected, and he spoke without thinking. “What? Really? You?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Marinette said defensively, her shoulders hunching up.

Chat winced. “I just – you’ve got loads of people to talk to. Your parents, your friends, Alya.”

“I’m not sure they would understand when I can barely understand it myself,” Marinette said slowly. She paused and scuffed her bare foot against the floor. Then suddenly, a torrent of words spilled out. “I mean, it’s all so new to me. I can’t believe I never realized it before. I felt so dumb! Like, so dumb you don’t even know. I literally stayed up all night last night thinking about it and trying to figure it out and I did talk to Alya a little, but she’s so wound up with Nino and I _know_ she’s not like this and –”

“Whoa,” Chat said, holding his claws up to stem the flow. “Marinette, I’m sorry. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Still, Marinette wouldn’t look at him. But now she said nothing.

“Marinette?” Chat said as gently as he knew how. “I didn’t mean it like that. You listened to me. Anything you want to tell me, I’ll hear it.”

“I know,” Marinette whispered. “You’re good at that. I –” She sighed, clutching the blanket tightly, and finally looked at him with eyes brightened by tears. “I think I’m like you, Chat. About the sex thing, I mean. I… I might be broken too.”


	5. Hearts

Chat’s mouth dropped open as Marinette’s confession registered. That was the last thing he had been expecting her to say! Especially since she had insisted _he_ wasn’t broken just last night. He stared at her in shock for a few moments, during which Marinette seemed to curl up even more on herself. Realizing that he wasn’t helping, Chat gave his head a shake.

“I… what?” he said finally, which still wasn’t very helpful, but it was the best he could manage.

Marinette sighed heavily and turned away fully, leaning against the railing. “I don’t know. I just… you got me thinking. There’s this guy that I have a crush on. I’ve liked him for a long time. Like two years now. And in all that time I’ve liked him, I’ve never _once_ thought seriously about having sex with him. A couple times I’ve been attracted to him that way… I think… so I guess it’s not exactly like you… but…” 

“But it’s close enough that it bothered you?” Chat said.

She nodded. “It should’ve occurred to me sooner. Like I said, Alya has been all over Nino lately. Between that and Ladybug, she barely talks about anything else. It’s never bothered me to listen to her… but it hit me last night that I never think about Ad – um, my crush that way. Ever. I just like… think about us getting married and being a really awesome power couple and having kids. And I know, you have to have to sex to have kids, but surely that’s not the _only_ reason someone would ever want to have sex!”

“It would be for me,” Chat said, and she looked at him again. “The more I think about it, the more the idea grosses me out.” He hadn’t intended to share that, but it came out anyway, and the admission made Marinette relax a little.

“You know, there are ways around that. You don’t have to have sex to have kids,” she said.

“Yeah,” Chat said. Somehow, he doubted that was ever going to be a concern for him. He’d be lucky to find a person who wanted to be with him at this rate, much less someone who wanted to have children with him.

“Anyway… I was talking to Alya last night and I asked her if there had ever been a time where she didn’t like, want to have sex with anyone. And she didn’t even know what I was talking about. She started rambling about all these celebrities she had a crush on and how hot Nino was, and then she brought up my crush and –” Marinette’s cheeks reddened and she finished in a whisper. “Nothing she said sounded that appealing. I mean, if he wanted to… I’d maybe think about it… but…”

“But you wouldn’t really want to?” Chat said, knowing exactly what she meant. If Ladybug asked him to have sex tomorrow, he’d have to think seriously about turning her down if it was something that she really wanted.

Marinette groaned miserably. “I think so. I don’t know? This is so hard.” She slumped over the railing.

Watching her, Chat felt a surge of guilt. “I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I shouldn’t have said anything… if I hadn’t –”

“If you hadn’t, I probably would’ve found out about this on my wedding night, knowing my luck,” Marinette said dryly. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Chat. As hard as this is, I’m glad you said something. And… I guess I don’t really think we’re broken… but…” She sighed heavily.

Chat wasn’t so sure that was true, but he decided to take Marinette at her word. “So are you gonna talk to your crush then?”

“What?!” Marinette said again, much shriller this time. She bolted upright to stare at him.

“Well, you said I should talk to Ladybug,” Chat said.

Marinette shook her head furiously. “No! My crush doesn’t even know that I like him. I could _never_ talk to him about something like this, oh my god. I would… I would have a heart attack and _die_!”

Chat cracked a smile. “We wouldn’t want that to happen.”

“Exactly. So no. That will not be happening. Not ever,” Marinette said.

“Got it.” He leaned against the railing too and exhaled. “Wow. When you said you wanted me to come back, you made it sound like you wanted to give me something. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out –”

“Oh!” Marinette said. “I did! Hold on!” She scrambled over to the window and disappeared inside, leaving Chat to blink after her. 

He didn’t know what he was expecting for tonight, but this wasn’t it. Marinette was like him? The idea was both a relief and scary. A relief because it meant that Chat wasn’t alone, but scary because it meant that Marinette was having to go through the same thing – and Chat knew firsthand how horrible it was to realize that you couldn’t do something that most of humanity considered to be a given.

Marinette’s head popped back out of the window. She carefully lifted herself out, bringing with her a covered plate. She presented it to Chat with a warm smile and said, “This is for you. For trusting me, and for the flowers, and for listening to me tonight.”

“You didn’t need to thank me. You’re the one who listened to me in the first place,” Chat said, a little overwhelmed as he took the plate. 

“I really, really did,” Marinette said firmly. “I hope you like them.”

‘Them’ turned out to be raspberry chocolate cheesecake squares. Chat picked one up and bit into it, barely able to conceal a gasp of pleasure. They were a perfect mix of the sweetness from the chocolate, the tartness of the raspberries, and the creaminess of the cream cheese. He couldn’t remember the last time he had tasted something so delicious.

“Marinette, these are incredible!” he exclaimed.

Marinette brightened. “Really? Thanks! I made them myself.”

“You _made_ these?” Chat said, impressed. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

She giggled and blushed a little. “Well, as we’ve recently established, there is _one_ thing,” she said, and Chat frowned at himself.

But Marinette had calmed down, and she kept her smile as she moved back over to her chair and sat down. She patted the seat beside her. Chat hesitated for only a moment before he sat next to her, balancing the plate on his lap. Marinette picked up her laptop and set it on her lap, screen tilted slightly so that Chat could see it too. She had it open to Tumblr, showing a gif with dancing hearts.

“Before you got here, I was looking some stuff up online. Or trying to. But I was scared to do it by myself,” Marinette admitted. “I thought maybe we could look together.”

“Look for what?” Chat asked. He had a quick flashback to yesterday, when he’d been staring at the Ladyblog trying to will himself to want to have sex with Ladybug, and felt his face get hot. He sincerely hoped that wasn’t what Marinette had in mind!

“If you and I feel this way, maybe there are other people out there who do too,” Marinette said, opening up a new browser window. 

“You mean… more people who don’t want sex?” Chat said. 

“Exactly.”

“That’s… really smart. I didn’t even think of looking that up,” Chat said. More and more, he was grateful that he’d decided to confide in Marinette. 

Marinette shrugged. “Well, we might not find anything. But I thought it was worth a shot, you know? Maybe there’s a name for it.”

“A name for it?”

“Why not? One of my classmates is bisexual,” she said, and Chat knew she was talking about Alix. “That means she likes both men and women. She came into class one day and announced it. She was really excited to have a label for it. If there’s a label for her, maybe there’s a label for us.” Her expression was filled with a mixture of hope and trepidation. Hope that they might find something, but nerves at just what that something might be.

“All we can do is look,” Chat said quietly, taking another cheesecake square. He bit into it, though it didn’t taste nearly as yummy this time.

“That’s right,” Marinette said. She typed _I don’t want to have sex with anyone_ into the search bar and hit enter.


	6. Crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually thought up two of the puns in this chapter myself and I'm not sure whether to be proud or horrified.

The first few links were news articles or blogs about rekindling love in a marriage. Chat wrinkled his nose and smiled when he heard Marinette scoff under her breath. She slowly scrolled down, eyes narrowed intently, before stopping and hovering the cursor over one particular link. It was another news site, but the blurb underneath looked a little more promising and mentioned a word that Chat had never heard of before.

“What’s asexuality?” he asked, unsure whether he was even pronouncing it right.

Marinette shrugged, pigtails bouncing. “I don’t know. Let’s see.” She clicked on the link and they both leaned in closer. 

The article was brief, only a couple hundred words long, but it talked about a growing percentage of the population that didn’t experience sexual attraction and who were perfectly content with it. Apparently, these people used the label ‘asexual’ to define themselves. Chat raised his eyebrows, a flicker of excitement curling through him. That… that sort of sounded like _him_.

“Asexual,” Marinette said softly. She opened up a new tab and typed the word in.

The first three things to come up was a dictionary definition, a Wikipedia page, and an online article. Marinette clicked on the Wikipedia article. Chat scanned it quickly, his heart starting to pound, but he was still confused.

“So like, does that mean you can’t be asexual if you find people attractive at all?” he asked Marinette. “Because I still think there are beautiful people out there… My Lady, for example.”

“I don’t think so. Look here.” Marinette pointed to the screen. “It says there are different types of attraction. There’s romantic, sensual, emotional, aesthetic… wow, I didn’t realize that there were so many kinds. Maybe this is what you feel for Ladybug.” And she ran her finger under the definition for romantic attraction, which was about having crushes and desiring a romantic relationship with someone.

Chat had to admit, it fit. So did sensual attraction, which seemed to be about wanting to touch, hold or cuddle someone. “I didn’t know there were different kinds of attraction either,” he admitted, feeling a little foolish. Of course there was! Sexual attraction wasn’t the only thing that mattered. It just seemed that way.

“This is really cool,” Marinette whispered, scrolling further down the page. “I guess when Alix said she was bisexual, she mentioned that there were other sexualities too… but I didn’t really pay much attention.”

He hadn’t either. Now Chat regretted that. Maybe he wasn’t broken after all. He held his breath as Marinette passed a section that talked about how asexuals could still have a libido – they carefully didn’t look at each other, and Chat resolved to research that part of it later on his own – until they got to a section that Marinette grab his arm.

“Look! It says that asexual people can still have relationships!”

“Without sex?” Chat said doubtfully. “I’m sorry, I just have a really hard time picturing Ni – err, my best friend being okay with not having sex with his girlfriend.”

Marinette slumped a little. “Yeah… but maybe it would be different if they really loved you,” she said hopefully. 

“Maybe,” Chat said, but he wasn’t holding out much hope. And he could tell that by the look on Marinette’s face, she wasn’t either. He groped around for something encouraging and settled on: “But you’re different, Marinette. You said you’re not entirely opposed to the idea of having sex, right?”

“I don’t know. I’d have to think about it,” she said. “But… wouldn’t my partner… uh, that is, my crush deserve better than someone who wasn’t sexually attracted to them?” She looked to him for an answer. “And beside, I also said I _thought_ that once in a while I might have felt that way towards him. I can’t be sure, but doesn’t that mean I can’t be asexual?”

“Uh,” Chat said. In search of help, he glanced back down at the screen. “Wait, what’s that?”

Distracted, Marinette followed his gaze. “What? Asexual sub-identities?” As she spoke, she clicked on the link and they both looked at the new screen that had come up.

And then, very softly, Marinette said, “Oh.”

Gray-asexual and demisexual… more terms that Chat had never heard of. He would never have guessed that the realm of sexuality could be so varied! He scanned the definitions, realizing that each one seemed to depend on how much sexual attraction a person felt. A gray-asexual was someone who only felt sexual attraction rarely, or at such a low level that it was nearly non-existent. Demisexual people only felt attraction after a bond had been formed, such as friendship. 

“Gray-asexual sounds like you,” Chat said before he could stop himself.

“It… sort of does, doesn’t it?” Marinette said in a wondering tone. She cocked her head. “Doesn’t it sound indecisive, though?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like a cop-out. I can’t make up my mind, so I’m deciding to hide in a gray area,” Marinette said, a frown crossing her face.

Chat shook his head. “Not at all! Think about it, Marinette. There are tons of different sexualities. Do you really believe everyone should slot neatly into a yes or no? That’s not really how it works. Of course some people fall into the gray area in between. I bet there are tons of people like you. You wouldn’t say that to them, would you?”

“Well, no.” Marinette was quiet for a moment, re-reading the screen.

“You don’t have to use it as a label if you don’t want to,” Chat said. “I… I think I’m asexual, though.” It felt weird to say that out loud. Weird, but good. Like a weight being taken off his shoulders. He couldn’t believe that he wasn’t alone. This was an actual _thing_!

“Actually, you’re ace,” Marinette said with a shy smile. “That’s the shorthand.”

“Ace, huh.” Chat smirked. “That makes sense. I am Ladybug’s _ace_ in the hole.”

Marinette’s head snapped up and she looked at him with an expression of pure horror. “Please, no.”

“Sorry. You’re just going to have to f _ace_ facts,” Chat said, grin widening.

“Oh my god,” Marinette said.

“Learn to embr _ace_ it, Marinette!”

“Please stop.”

“Don’t be so sour. I’m the _ace_ -ing on the cake!”

“You’re definitely a men _ace_ ,” Marinette said dryly.

Chat cackled. “Ooh, good one. I’ll have to remember that!”

“I feel so bad for Ladybug,” she whispered, shaking her head as she closed her laptop and hugged it to her chest.

“Don’t. I doubt I’ll tell her,” Chat said, some of his good humor disappearing. He really had to think about Ladybug and what he felt for her, and what this potentially meant for the future he’d always hoped for.

“I would tell you again that you should, but at this point that would make me a hypocrite,” Marinette said. “I sure as hell don’t plan to tell my crush about this.”

“He’d be lucky to have you, you know,” Chat told her.

She smiled. “Thanks, but I’m pretty sure you’re bi- _ace_ -d.”

“Oh my god!” Chat exclaimed, nearly knocking the plate of squares off his lap when he threw his hands up.

Marinette laughed. “And on that note, I’m going to bed. It’s late and I’m really tired.” She looked wryly at the squares. “I shouldn’t have given you those; you’ll be up for hours.”

“Nah. I’ll burn it off doing patrol. It’s my night, anyway,” Chat replied. “Do you mind if I leave these here for a bit? I’ll pick them up on my way back.”

“Of course. Good night, Chat.” Marinette stood up.

He stood too. “Good night. And Marinette, thanks.”

She flashed him another smile. “No problem.”

Chat smiled back and jumped off the balcony. He did a quick rooftop patrol, but Paris was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday night – then again, it was early. Roughly forty-five minutes after leaving Marinette’s, he backtracked to pick up his treat. When he got back to her balcony, he found that she had put the squares into a secure container for him. There was a note on top.

 _For a great superhero and an even better accompl-_ ace _. Bonsoir, Chat Noir._


	7. Pink and Red

“Adrien.”

“Mm, go away,” Adrien mumbled, waving a hand. It had been well after three in the morning before he finally drifted off, too excited by the information he’d found on the internet to be able to sleep. Marinette was _brilliant_. Her idea of looking it up, and of finding the right terminology, had opened up a brand new world. He’d only forced himself to go to sleep after his phone died.

“Okay, but I bet Ladybug will be pretty mad when you don’t bother to show up for the akuma.”

“The – what?!” Adrien’s eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, realizing that the television was on and featuring Nadja Chamack’s news show. Plagg did that sometimes, usually when he was bored and there was no Camembert left, though Adrien couldn’t remember the last time that his kwami had been watching the news.

“Yeah, there’s an akuma terrorizing downtown Paris,” Plagg said breezily. “But if you’re too tired –”

“I’m not! I’m up.” Adrien rolled out of bed, swaying slightly once he was standing. A quick glance at the clock told him it was just after six in the morning, and he was sorely tempted to cry. Three hours of sleep was not enough for anyone, much less a teenaged superhero with a demanding job.

“But are you awake?” Plagg said, peering at him skeptically.

“Awake enough to want to kick Hawkmoth’s ass. Plagg, claws out!” Adrien half-heartedly punched the air. Green light washed over him, which made him feel slightly more alert. 

As soon as his window was open, he could hear the distant sound of screaming. Chat headed in that direction. As he got closer, he started to see some people collapsed in the street. Every one of them was covered in a pink or red goo of some kind. His concern deepened and he picked up the pace, planting the end of his baton on a roof and launching himself high into the air.

“Chat!” Ladybug’s voice rang out to his left. His feet hit the ground and he jumped again, narrowly avoiding a – what the hell was that?

He landed hard on his right foot and pivoted, then stopped and blinked in shock. What looked eerily similar to a Jack of Hearts playing card, only in akuma form, was pointing a weapon in their direction. Ladybug was breathing heavily, which suggested that the akuma – Jack, for short – was of the speedier variety. Great. Just what Chat wanted when he was already tired!

“What is that?” he asked, gesturing to the weapon and not really expecting Ladybug to know. He was surprised when she answered.

“Tikki told me it’s a halberd.”

“You detransformed once already?” Chat said sharply.

Ladybug shook her head. “We saw it on the news.”

“Same here. Well, Plagg did.”

She gave him a thin, weary smile. “My dad woke me up and said I should come see the cool, Valentine’s themed akuma.”

“Did I mention I hate this time of year?” Chat muttered, extending his baton to the point where it could be used as a staff.

“I’m with you there,” Ladybug said, sighing. “Now more than ever. Be careful, that halberd is razor sharp.”

“Got it. What’s the akuma’s deal?”

“Well, it hasn’t said a word so far. But I think it feels the same way we do.”

“Come again?”

Ladybug turned towards him. “I couldn’t figure out why only certain people were fainting until I realized that every couple was going down,” she said. “I think it’s only affecting people who are in love.”

“Well shit,” Chat said, and Ladybug nodded grimly.

“So don’t let it touch you with that stuff. It comes out of the halberd and it’ll knock you out immediately.” Ladybug reached for her yoyo, spinning it slowly. Chat followed her gaze, eyeing Jack. The akuma watched them with blank, dark eyes that gave nothing away. So creepy. He really hated the ones that seemed to lose so much of their humanity when Hawkmoth took over.

Suddenly, Jack jumped towards them. Chat went one way and Ladybug went the other; it was a common tactic of theirs to split up so that Chat could serve as the distraction while Ladybug snuck in close to grab the akumatized object. But in this case, she hadn’t been kidding about how fast Jack could move. It whipped around, grabbing Ladybug by the throat at the same time the halberd slashed at Chat’s midsection.

He yelped and dropped roughly to the ground, then sprang at the akuma. It dropped Ladybug and swiveled to face Chat. Ladybug hit the roof in a heap and started coughing and gagging. Chat swung his baton up to meet the halberd, and for a few intense moments he was locked in combat with the akuma. His reflexes were greatly intensified when he was transformed, but it didn’t take him long to realize that he was vastly outmatched. The akuma’s speed took his breath away.

“Chat,” Ladybug croaked from somewhere behind him.

Chat took his eyes off the akuma for a split second, which proved to be his undoing: suddenly the blunt tip of the halberd was rammed into his ribs so hard that he saw spots. He stumbled backwards and sank to the ground, struggling to breathe, and watched Jack jump off the building fearlessly. Ladybug dropped down beside him a moment later, gripping his arm.

“Oh my god, are you okay?!” she asked frantically. “I’m so sorry. I distracted you –”

“It’s fine,” Chat rasped, though ribs certainly didn’t feel fine. Without the suit, he knew for a fact that they would’ve been broken. As it was, he thought they were probably just bruised. But it hurt like hell regardless.

Ladybug didn’t look like she believed him, but she nodded. “Can you stand? We have to go after it before it puts the whole city to sleep!”

She helped him to his feet. Chat breathed shallowly as she handed him his baton. How were they going to stop an akuma that could move so quickly? His mind raced, but unless Ladybug’s Lucky Charm was a can of extraordinarily quick-drying superglue, he didn’t see how they were going to be able to do this… unless they had some help. He looked at Ladybug.

“You should go see Master Fu,” he told her.

“And leave you here alone?” Ladybug said, flustered.

“I don’t think we can beat this one with just us, My Lady. We need help.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, which meant she agreed but didn’t want to admit it, before she said, “You can’t handle that while I’m gone.”

“Sure I can. Just be fast,” Chat said with a grim smile.

“ _Chaton_ …” For a second, it seemed like Ladybug had something more to say. But she didn’t. She just nodded and threw her yoyo out, letting it take her in the direction of Master Fu.

Chat didn’t watch her go, but turned to jump off the roof in the same direction as Jack. It took him several minutes to catch up, but at least Jack was easy to find: all he had to do was follow the trail of unconscious bodies that lined the streets of Paris. And naturally, he found the akuma just as Jack was winding up its halberd and taking aim at a couple of terrified kids. Two unconscious adults, presumably their parents, lay nearby.

He didn’t hesitate. Chat threw himself forward, grabbing the kids and pushing them and himself out of the way. The kids went sprawling, letting out terrified screeches. Chat managed to stop himself from landing on his face by catching the claws of his right hand on a bench. He hung there for a moment, panting and oddly tired, before realization dawned. He looked down at his right foot.

A chunk of pink and red goop was on his boot.

“Shit,” he muttered, right before he passed out and faceplanted.


	8. Heartbreak

“Chat! Chat!” 

Ladybug’s frantic voice filled his ears and Chat blinked, realizing he was laying on his back. It took him a moment to remember what had happened, and when he did he mentally groaned. Once again, another fight had gone by during which he’d been useless to Ladybug. Thank goodness he’d sent her for help _before_ the akuma caught him, though he dreaded to think of how many people Jack had gone after in the time between Chat getting hit and Ladybug returning.

Her head popped into view a moment later, eyes wide as she examined his face. “Chat? Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, it’s okay,” Chat said, sitting up. He braced himself automatically for the pain from his ribs – probably the reason he’d been just a hair slow in the first place – but there was nothing. Of course, Ladybug had used her cure. He inhaled deeply and cast her a grateful smile.

Ladybug didn’t return the smile. She seemed oddly shaken, her fingers finding and gripping his hand tightly. “Are you sure?”

“Never better. I’m fe- _line_ fine,” he said, upgrading his smile to cocky. Then, hoping to annoy her back to normal, he lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. He was shocked when she didn’t push him away, just breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m so glad,” she said quietly. “You scared me when I came back and saw you laying there.”

“I’m sorry. There were some kids –”

“They told me.” Ladybug finally smiled. “While you were sleeping, our help took down the akuma.”

Chat looked around and belatedly realized they had an audience. Rena Rouge and Queen Bee were standing several feet away; Queen Bee was at least trying to pretend she wasn’t paying attention, but Rena Rouge was blatantly and unashamedly eavesdropping. He shook his head in amusement and got to his feet. Ladybug stood up as well, eyeing him as though she expected to collapse at any moment.

“Do you want me to take Queen Bee home?” he asked, glancing at her earrings. She was down to three spots now, so she’d have just enough time to take back Rena Rouge’s miraculous and find a safe place to detransform.

“That would be great. Um, Chat…”

He turned back to her. “What?”

Ladybug opened and then closed her mouth. There was clearly something on her mind, and had been for some time now – but whatever it was, she couldn’t seem to bring herself to talk about it. That was unlike Ladybug, but Chat had learned a long time ago that Ladybug was very private when it came to her secrets. Pressing her for details when she wasn’t ready to share, or wasn’t sure if she _could_ share, would only result a fight or worse.

So he smiled, patted her shoulder, and said, “See you next time, Bugaboo!”

“Patrol,” she said before he could turn away again. “Tomorrow night?” Her miraculous beeped. Two spots.

Tomorrow night was Monday; they didn’t usually patrol on Mondays, but sometimes they did switch things up just to throw Hawkmoth off. Chat considered the offer, reflecting on his schedule. So far as he knew, he didn’t have to work tomorrow. He knew he had fencing practice and then piano lessons, but that should still give him plenty of time to do his homework, eat dinner alone, and then head out to meet Ladybug. 

“Sure,” he said. “Until then!”

He stepped away and Queen Bee sauntered over to join him. Chat didn’t look back as they left, just in case he caught a glimpse of Rena Rouge detransforming. Instead, he and Queen Bee made their way over the rooftops towards Le Grande Paris. They made it to Queen Bee’s balcony mere seconds before her transformation ran out. Yellow light pooled around them as their feet touched down.

“That was completely ridiculous, you know,” she said, putting her hands on her hips.

“Uh, what was?” Chat said.

“You and Ladybug need to get your shit together. That kind of heartbreak is just… ugh. Needlessly dramatic.” Chloé rolled her eyes and removed the Bee miraculous. She held it out to Chat, who just stood there and stared blankly.

“Heartbreak?” he repeated, dumbfounded.

Chloé just stared him down and shook the miraculous. “You want it back or not?”

Chat snapped out of it and took the miraculous. “What do you mean by heartbreak?”

She looked at him like she thought he was stupid, then turned and stalked into her room. “Doesn’t even _deserve_ Ladybug,” she muttered as she went.

Completely baffled, Chat carefully tucked the Bee miraculous into his pocket – he’d return it to Ladybug tomorrow night, and then she’d take it back to Master Fu – and jumped off her balcony. He made his way back home, muffling yawns by the time he rolled in his window. It was just after ten now according to the clock on his nightstand, and he sighed.

“Plagg, claws in.”

“Cheeeeeeeese,” Plagg wailed as he tumbled out of the ring.

“Yeah, I know. You’re starving.” Adrien rubbed his hands over his face as he walked over to the fridge. He pulled it open, looked for a moment, and then took out some Swiss.

Plagg scowled. “That’s not Camembert.”

“It’s all I’ve got. You ate all the Camembert,” Adrien said, unwrapping the cheese. At least Swiss smelt better than Camembert, he reflected. “I’ll go buy more later.”

He set the cheese down on his desk and walked towards his bed; Plagg might whine and moan about not getting his coveted Camembert, but that wouldn’t stop him from demolishing the Swiss because there way no way Adrien was running out to the store now. He faceplanted onto the bed, smiling ruefully to himself. At least his bed was infinitely softer than concrete. Good thing Ladybug’s miraculous cure healed them all, or he’d have had some explaining to do over the scratches and bruises his face would’ve had.

As he lay there, listening to the sounds of Plagg chowing down on the cheese, he thought about Chloé’s unusual choice of words. _Heartbreak_. It had to be nothing more than Chloé being dramatic. Ladybug always got upset when Chat was injured or otherwise incapacitated in some way, and vice versa. They were partners, of course it was upsetting. But heartbreak? That suggested something entirely different.

His thoughts turned to Ladybug’s unusual behavior, and he wondered if Marinette was right and Ladybug would understand. In the early days, she’d been paranoid about letting even the slightest bit of information slip. It had been months before Chat learned even little things, like her favorite color (pink) or her favorite food (her maman’s dumplings). They’d shared a little more as they grew closer, but even now Chat was never sure when he’d cross that line.

Was sexuality too personal? Maybe Ladybug would be happy to know, if she realized it also meant that Chat was contemplating giving up on her. She was smart enough to put two and two together and come up with four. Or maybe she would be angry… frustrated that even after all this time, he was still pushing at her boundaries. He wasn’t sure he wanted to run the risk of the latter.

Not sure, even, that he wanted to tell her and risk letting go of her completely. Sex or not, he _loved_ Ladybug. He might not know her name, but he knew the depths of her compassion and the fierceness of her strength and the spark of conviction that kept her fighting even when things were at their worst. She was stubborn and too quick to jump to conclusions be they right or wrong; she suffered from anxiety, worse at some times than others; she had a small circle of best friends and a wider circle of other friends, all of to whom she was deeply loyal; she was kind, never hesitated to help those in need, and unrelenting in her pursuit of what she enjoyed; she loved completely and whole-heartedly, with everything that she was; she was by far the most amazing person he had ever known. Those features made up the core of _Ladybug_ , mask or no.

How could he ever give up on that?


	9. Cupid

Nathalie woke him shortly after twelve; of course, she made a fuss that Adrien was still in bed despite the late hour, and nearly called the doctor before Adrien managed to convince her that it wasn’t necessary. He dragged himself out of bed and presented himself at the table for lunch, then bundled up in a coat and boots and left the mansion for three hours of Chinese lessons and then basketball practice.

When he returned, Nathalie directed him upstairs for piano practice. Adrien sat on the polished bench, weary, and set his fingers on the keys, but did not yet play. What he really wanted to do was put his head down and sleep for another two or three hours, but he could only risk using pre-recorded music as a cover so many times before he’d get caught and it was more important to be able to use that excuse during akuma battles.

“Going over to Marinette’s again tonight?” Plagg asked, and Adrien looked up. Plagg was perched on the edge of the piano, watching Adrien with unsettlingly green eyes.

“I don’t know. Hadn’t thought about it,” Adrien said, touching a key to hear the soft chime.

“Surprising since you seemed so excited when you came home last night,” said Plagg.

“That was different,” Adrien muttered. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out that the concept of sexuality was utterly lost on a kwami. According to Plagg, kwamis just _were_. They couldn’t have children; they were born into existence when a new concept or need arouse in the very universe itself. Of course, Plagg had also pointed out that that was a massive oversimplification of the whole thing, inferring that Adrien wasn’t smart enough to grasp the full explanation – but Adrien preferred not to dwell on that part of it.

He set his hands on the keys and began to play a simple scale just to warm up. It had been a while since he’d actually sat down to practice, and his stiff fingers reflected that. Playing piano could be a comfort or a source of frustration depending on the day; he was grateful that today it was the former, and the longer he played the more he could feel some of his tenseness starting to melt away. Naturally, that was when Plagg spoke up.

“Was it? She’s the same as you. Maybe you should date her instead.”

Adrien startled, accidentally hitting a sour note. “Plagg!”

“What?” Plagg said, adopting an innocent look.

“That’s not a good reason to date someone,” Adrien said, exasperated. 

“Obviously, but that wouldn’t be your _only_ reason, would it?” Plagg said knowingly. “You can pretend you’re just friends all you want, but you like her.”

“I do not,” Adrien said, scowling at his kwami. 

“You do too. And if you didn’t have Ladybug, I bet you’d be willing to admit it.”

Adrien said nothing for a moment. Because maybe there was a shard of truth in what Plagg was saying – as Nino had said once, Marinette was so open and giving and kind that it seemed like everyone had had a crush on her at some point. But it wouldn’t be right for Adrien to date anyone, never mind a friend, when he was so caught up in Ladybug. Marinette deserved better.

“But I do have Ladybug,” he said at last, very quietly. “I really – I really do love her. So…”

Plagg sighed. “Stupid kids,” he muttered, and took off. Adrien watched him fly over to the bed, then looked back down at the piano.

He’d never admit it out loud, but maybe Plagg was right. Maybe he should be giving Marinette a chance. They were compatible sexually even if she didn’t know it. But was that enough for the basis of a relationship? Not to mention, his love for Ladybug and Marinette’s mysterious crush. She was in the same boat as him, it seemed… in love with someone, but uncertain now that it could ever happen.

At least, he hoped, Marinette’s chances with her crush were better than his chances with Ladybug. Because it didn’t matter what Adrien’s orientation was. Ladybug had made it clear she didn’t love him like that. He still held out hope she’d change her mind, but now what would happen if she did? Could he ever make a woman happy if he couldn’t give her a fundamental part of what made a relationship?

He lowered his head, frustrated, then resumed playing. He practiced for over two hours, trying to focus on the music rather than letting him dwell on the situation at hand, and only stopped when his hands starting cramping up. Adrien reluctantly straightened up, rubbing at the back of his neck to ease the tension, and glanced around for Plagg. His kwami was curled up on the bed, asleep.

Should he go to Marinette’s? Adrien debated that for a moment as he set aside his music book and closed the lid over the keys. She hadn’t told him to come back, but nor had she asked him to stay away. She probably wouldn’t think anything of Chat showing up for another visit. After all, the last two times they’d spoken had changed both their worldviews pretty fundamentally. And even if she didn’t want him there, Marinette was too sweet to send him away. She’d welcome him with open arms – and maybe even more sweets.

It just seemed more fraught now that Plagg had brought up dating again. He’d always teased Adrien about Marinette being his girlfriend, and Adrien had always denied it, secure in his feelings for Ladybug. And he still was, but now, even if he decided not to give up on her, he was losing hope that he and Ladybug would ever be more than partners. So should he be spending more time with Marinette? Less? Was it wrong to spend time with her with an ulterior motive in mind? Especially since she didn’t know that Chat Noir was close to her as a civilian… she had no idea she had disclosed something so private to a friend…

“I can hear you overthinking from here,” Plagg moaned. “You’re disturbing my sleep.”

“My apologies,” Adrien said, rolling his eyes. He picked up his music book. There was a silhouette of a white Cupid drawing back an arrow on the cover; love songs probably weren’t the thing to be dwelling on right now anyway, he thought wryly. He set the book on his desk and pushed it to the back.

“So?” Plagg said, opening one eye to stare.

“I’m going to go see Marinette,” Adrien announced. There didn’t have to be anything more to the visit than a simple friend dropping by to visit another, after all.

“I knew it,” Plagg muttered. 

“Don’t complain. It was your idea!”

“I know; I hate myself already.”

Adrien shook his head. “I’m going to eat supper. When we come back, we’re going.” He left the room before he could hear Plagg start whining again, heading downstairs. 

He ate supper alone as usual – no clue where his father was, and Nathalie was holed up in her office working on some kind of report – before wandering back upstairs. The mansion was dark and quiet, just like usual. He stood in the doorway to his room for a moment, looking over his shoulder. Marinette’s house always seemed to be filled with warmth and laughter. He wondered what Ladybug’s home was like. He hoped that it was similar to Marinette’s; he hoped Ladybug didn’t know what it was like to eat alone and then go to bed alone.

Maybe someday he would get to ask her. Someday after Hawkmoth was defeated. If, at that point, Ladybug felt comfortable sharing her identity, and Adrien had no idea if she would. They’d never really discussed it. He wasn’t sure how to bring it up without it seeming like he was pushing.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Adrien blinked, startled. “What? Seriously?”

“I’ve had about as much of you moping as I can stand,” Plagg said. “At least when you’re with your girlfriend, you don’t mope!”

“Marinette isn’t – oh, never mind,” Adrien said, sighing. Plagg did have a point. He wasn’t going to accomplish anything else tonight. He’d just spend the whole time thinking about Ladybug. Maybe going to see Marinette would make him tired enough that he’d actually sleep.

“So?” Plagg said impatiently.

“Plagg, claws out!”


	10. Balloons

Marinette’s balcony was dark when Chat got there. He had half-hoped she might be outside waiting, but quickly realized how silly that was. He alighted on the railing and perched there uncertainly, wondering if he had made a mistake in coming. It was Sunday night. Marinette was probably doing her homework, or possibly she had finished that and was hard at work on a design. He shouldn’t have come.

But no sooner had he stood, intending to do a quick patrol before returning home, then the curtain swept open and the window was cracked. There was no sign of Marinette, but surely that was an invitation? Cautiously, just in case he was misinterpreting the situation, Chat crept towards the window and nudged it open the rest of the way. He had never come into Marinette’s room this way, but he knew her bed lay below.

Marinette was sitting on the bed with her back to the corner, knees pulled up against her chest. She was holding something in her arms, though Chat couldn’t see what it was. She didn’t tell him to go away, but nor did she invite him in. Chat hesitated, unsure of whether he was welcome, until Marinette turned her head slightly and he caught a glimpse of tell-tale wetness on her cheeks.

She was _crying_.

“Marinette?” he breathed, scrambling in through the window before better sense could prevail. He landed awkwardly on the bed and paused, hovering anxiously.

“I’ve been doing some research,” Marinette confessed, not looking at him. Her voice wavered, thick with tears. “Did you know there are forums for people like us? Where they can go to – to talk and share stories?”

“Yes,” Chat said. He had stumbled across some of those forums last night, though he hadn’t looked into them much. He had planned to do so later on, but now, based on Marinette’s reaction, he didn’t know if he should.

“There are so many stories where people tried dating and it didn’t work out. Either the relationships ended, or they got cheated on…” Her lower lip trembled. “I don’t want to be cheated on, Chat. I don’t want to be told that I’m not enough, and that sex is a basic human right I’m depriving someone of. How can I ever trust that someone would love me enough to… to overlook that?”

Chat stared at her, speechless.

“I don’t think my crush would do that,” Marinette went on. “But… there are lots of things I don’t know about him… and all these people, they seemed so _sure_ at first until it all fell apart.” Another tear rolled down her cheek. “It’s just… I don’t… this is all _too much_!” She pressed a hand over her mouth, as though trying to hold everything in, but it didn’t work. A sob escaped.

“Marinette, I – ” Chat didn’t know what to say. His heart thudded in his chest with a perplexing mixture of guilt, fear and worry. Guilt that he had ever talked to Marinette in the first place and drawn her into this, fear that maybe someday the same thing could happen to either of them, and worry over his friend.

He hesitantly shifted closer, resting a hand on her arm, and was shocked when Marinette pushed herself up and threw her arms around his neck. She did it with such a degree of familiarity, as though they had hugged before, that for a split second he was petrified that she had somehow figured out who he was. But then Marinette sobbed again and he pushed the stupid thought away, wrapping his arms around her.

“I’m scared,” Marinette cried into his shoulder. “Why does this have to be so hard, Chat? Why can’t we just be normal?”

His throat tightened and Chat blinked back tears of his own. That was eerily close to what he himself had been thinking not that long ago. He rested his chin on her head, searching in vain for words of comfort to offer. But what could he say? He couldn’t promise that Marinette’s crush wouldn’t do that to her, or even that she would find a relationship that would work out. He didn’t want to make promises when he didn’t know if they’d come true.

"I'm sorry," he whispered at last.

She shook her head. "It's not your fault. In fact, you probably helped me. Can you imagine what it would be like to get into a relationship with someone and only discover this about yourself _after_ the fact? Or after you’e married, or worse? That's like... like false advertising."

Chat grimaced. "Yeah, that wouldn't be good." 

"I just..." Marinette let out a long sigh, her tears slowing. "There's this boy, and he loves me," she said into his chest, her voice slightly muffled. 

"Your crush?" Chat said, surprised. He had assumed that Marinette hadn't confessed to her crush, but maybe -

"No. Not my crush. Someone... someone else."

Someone else loved Marinette? Well, that wasn't surprising. She had to be talking about Luka, Chat realized. Unless... unless Luka _was_ her crush. He couldn't see Luka reacting poorly to finding out that Marinette wasn't interested in sex, but then again he didn't know Luka as well as he would have liked. But if Luka was the crush Marinette kept talking about, who was the other boy that was in love with her? He wracked his brain to think of possible candidates. Nathaniel'd had a crush on Marinette for the longest time, but now he was dating Marc. Nino was dating Alya. Maybe Kim?

Marinette was talking again. "For a long time I didn't really understand that he loved me; I thought he was just a silly flirt, but lately... I realized I wasn't taking him seriously, and that wasn't fair. I think part of me didn't want him to be in love with me because I was worried about breaking his heart, but he was. Is. And I..." She pulled back a bit, rubbing at her cheeks. "I wonder... would it be easier to love him back and forget my crush?"

Chat chuckled bitterly before he could stop himself. "I swear our lives are paralleled right now, Marinette. I spent most of the day wondering the same thing."

She looked at him, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"There's someone else," Chat said slowly, choosing his words carefully, because she couldn't know who that someone was. "A good friend of my civilian self. I'm pretty sure we're compatible sexually. But..."

"But...?" Marinette whispered.

"I don't know. I still love Ladybug. Isn't it unfair for me to even be considering my friend just because we don't want the same thing when I'm in love with someone else?"

She was quiet, still sitting closely enough that their chests met each time one of them inhaled. Her expression was full of conflict when she finally responded. "I don't know either."

"We make quite a pair, don't we?" Chat said ruefully.

"I don't want this boy to be second best," Marinette said, gulping. "He deserves better than that."

Chat's heart ached at how earnest she looked, because had he not thought the same thing about Marinette while talking to Plagg? She really was an amazing girl. In fact, now that he thought about it, she imbued many of the qualities that he loved so much about Ladybug. It would be so easy to love Marinette. 

"So I guess... I guess that means maybe I should confess to Adrien and let him reject me. Maybe then I can move on."

The world ground to a halt. It felt like balloons swelled inside of Chat's chest, stealing all the space for air. He choked out, "A-Adrien?"

"Oh." Marinette flushed, giving him a shy look as she sat back on her knees. "Yeah... Adrien Agreste. Before you say anything, it's not just a celebrity crush. I actually know him. He's in my class and he's just... god, Chat, he's the sweetest guy. Back when we first met, I got really mad at him and he was still kind enough to give me his umbrella. Just thinking about him makes me smile." Contrary to her words, Marinette sighed sadly.

Chat was back to staring at her in stunned silence. Marinette's crush, the one she was agonizing over, was _him_?!

Somehow, he managed to pull himself together to stutter out a few words of encouragement. Then he made a flimsy excuse to leave, which Marinette graciously accepted. She seemed a little embarrassed, and, as much as he wanted to comfort her further, he needed to leave. He climbed out onto her balcony and left without looking back, head spinning at this new bit of information. That was the last thing he'd been expecting. Not Luka, but him. Adrien. Marinette was in love... with _him_.

Softly, into the wind, he whispered, "This is so fucked up."


	11. Party

Another sleepless night, albeit for different reasons this time, left Adrien yawning as he readied himself for school. He had spent the hours in which he was supposed to be sleeping mentally connecting dots and wondering how the hell he had been so oblivious. Several situations that had always seemed a bit odd now made a lot of sense. Even silly things, like why Alya always seemed so determined to get Adrien and Marinette alone, now added up.

“Agreste, you’re an idiot,” he told his tired-looking reflection.

“Can’t argue that!” Plagg called out from the bedroom. Adrien sighed and leaned in towards the mirror, examining the deepening bags beneath his eyes. It was hard to say who would have the bigger fit if he went out like this, his father or his make-up artist, but either way Adrien reached for his bottle of cover-up.

As he worked, he pondered again how he was supposed to handle seeing Marinette today. Knowing what kind of torment she was going through made his stomach cramp with guilt and discomfort. He could alleviate her deepest fears with a few words, and it would be absolutely incredible to do that. He could have a beautiful, smart, kind girl who loved him.

But Ladybug.

He scowled, twisting the cap back on the tube with admittedly more force than was really necessary. Damn his heart! Why wouldn’t it just give up on Ladybug already? Here was Marinette, crushing on him and twisting herself up needlessly, just waiting for Adrien to give the word, and he didn’t know if he could bring himself to do that. Didn’t know if he could let go of Ladybug. Didn’t know if Marinette would even want him to. Didn’t know if she deserved him even trying. What the hell was wrong with him? 

“Adrien, your bodyguard is downstairs with the car.”

“Coming,” Adrien called, walking out of the bathroom. Nathalie gave him a once-over as he picked up his bag.

“Are you sure you’re feeling well? You look pale,” she remarked.

“I’m fine. I just had trouble sleeping last night,” Adrien said. “What’s on my schedule for the day?”

“You have a photoshoot after school,” she said.

“Great,” he muttered unenthusiastically, moving past her. Though at least if he had to go to a photoshoot, he wouldn’t have to worry about Marinette trying to talk to him after school. He suddenly regretted having encouraged Marinette to talk to her crush. Now, with the full context of the situation, he realized what a dumb move that had been. He could only hope that Marinette would keep her silence until he figured out what to do.

Because if Marinette did confess, he had no idea what his response would be. He didn’t think he had it in him to break Marinette’s heart by turning her down. The last couple of days had already been so hard on them both. And he’d been oblivious to Marinette’s feelings for however long she’d been in love with him. He couldn’t bear the thought of causing her yet more pain.

The Gorilla was indeed waiting in the car. Adrien got into the backseat and stared silently out the window. As they approached the school, his heart fluttered with a combination of nerves and excitement. Whatever he did, he had to be cool. Marinette had no idea that she had divulged such private information to her crush. She deserved, at the very least, his discretion.

Nino was waiting at the gate. He stepped forward as Adrien climbed out of the car, smiling. “Hey Dude!”

“H i Nino,” Adrien said, shutting the door.

“Wow, you look exhausted,” Nino said as the car drove away. “Tough weekend?”

“Something like that,” Adrien said, knowing that Nino would attribute a hard weekend to Adrien’s job. He silently apologized to his friend for lying, but the tangled truth wasn’t exactly something Adrien could talk about no matter how much he would have loved having the opinion of an unbiased third party – Plagg, since he didn’t care, didn’t exactly count.

“Bummer.” Nino threw an arm around Adrien’s shoulders. “Your dad really needs to learn how to chill out. We’re sixteen. We should be spending Saturday nights at a party, not working.”

“I’ve been to parties. They suck,” Adrien said, thinking of the boring, black-tie affairs his father often forced him to attend. They were filled with two kinds of people: those who were obsessed with trying to show off their wealth and one-up each other, or those whose ambition in life was trying to latch on to a wealthier companion. Adrien hated them; the only saving grace was when Chloé attended too, because at least she was good at chasing people away.

“Yeah, not quite the kind of party I meant,” Nino said with a wry smile. “Say, did you finish the physics homework? I don’t suppose you’d be willing to let your best friend in the whole world have a peek…”

“You didn’t get it done over the weekend?” Adrien asked.

Nino grinned. “Alya didn’t have to baby-sit her little sisters because her mom was off. We had way more important things to think about, if you know what I mean.”

“I know. No details necessary,” Adrien said quickly. “Let’s go sit and you can look at it.”

They found an empty bench on the far side of the yard and sat. Adrien took his workbook out and handed it over, then leaned back and turned his face to the sky. In spite of the cool crispness to the air, the early morning sun felt wonderful on his skin. Fatigue weighed heavily on his shoulders; he could’ve drifted off to sleep right then and there, with only the sound of Nino’s scratching pencil for company…

And then a familiar voice called out, “Hey Nino! Hi Adrien!”

Adrien’s eyes flew open in a panic at the sound of Alya’s voice. In a bid to get her best friend to school on time, Alya had started dropping by the bakery in the morning to pick Marinette up. It was actually working, as Marinette didn’t want to be the reason Alya was late, and so Adrien was not at all surprised to see that Marinette was hovering a step behind Alya as they walked over.

But he was worried, especially when he saw that Marinette looked just as tired as he felt. She was wearing make-up, but he would’ve bet good money that the circles under her eyes were as dark as the ones under his. Her smile seemed emptier than usual, and even her clothing lacked its usual dash of style: she was wearing blue jeans and a plain red top.

“Good morning,” Marinette said softly, not looking at Adrien.

“Hey Ladies,” Nino said, setting his work aside to hop up and kiss Alya in greeting.

“Hi,” Adrien said, equally soft. Unlike Marinette, who didn’t seem to want to acknowledge him, he couldn’t stop looking at her. He both want to and didn’t want to talk to her; there was nothing he could say, not right now, and yet leaving her to stew in her uncertainty was cruel.

“Wow, Sunshine, you look as tired as my girl does,” Alya said once she got a good look at Adrien. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you two had been having secret meetings all weekend!”

Adrien choked. Marinette squeaked. Nino laughed.

“Come on, Alya. As though Marinette and Adrien could ever keep a secret like that from us,” Nino said, gently nudging her in the ribs.

Alya snickered. “I’m just joking. Of course they couldn’t.”

Suddenly, not looking at Marinette was very easy. Adrien stared hard at the ground like it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen, not daring to look at _anyone_ less they somehow magically divine the truth.

“I gotta head inside,” he said, standing up. “I need to tell Madame Bustier I have to leave a few minutes early today. Nino, make sure you bring my workbook in with you, okay?”

“Sure,” Nino said with a nod, sitting back down. Alya and Marinette sat down beside him. Adrien felt a moment of regret that he couldn’t stay too – it would be easy, too easy, to sit beside Marinette, to put his arm around her and kiss her cheek – but made himself walk away. Unfortunately, distance did little to quell the uncertainty and frustration running through him. What on earth was he going to do?


	12. Be Mine

As twilight darkened into true night, Chat Noir’s nerves deepened too. He left early for patrol, hoping that the exertion might help to tire him out. Unfortunately, it did little to ease his current state of mind. As the time for him to meet up with Ladybug neared, his heart began to race. He had no idea what he was going to say or do when he saw her; he only knew he couldn’t keep going the way things were.

She was already waiting for him when he reached their usual spot, sitting on the edge of the roof with her legs dangling. Chat landed behind her and crept silently to her side, taking a seat beside her. As always, Paris looked stunning lit up with thousands of lights, but he couldn’t find it in himself to enjoy the moment. His mouth was painfully dry and his hands were shaking.

“Hi,” Ladybug said after a couple of minutes, finally breaking the silence.

“Hi,” Chat said, equally quiet.

“How was your day?” she asked.

“Long,” Chat replied without hesitating. “Very, very long.” The photoshoot had been a disaster, not in the least because Adrien had struggled so much with keeping himself focused. By the end of it, his photographer had been thoroughly disgusted. He wasn’t even sure if they’d gotten all the photos they needed. His father wouldn’t be happy if another session had to be scheduled because of him, but it was what it was.

“That about sums it up.” Ladybug sighed and tilted her head forward. Her pigtails slid off her shoulders, falling around her face and blocking it from view.

Somehow, it was a bit easier to speak when she couldn’t see him. Chat moistened his lips and coughed. “U-um, Ladybug?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you be angry if I, err, I told you something? About myself?”

Ladybug’s head turned and she stared at him with the most intense, scrutinizing look he had ever seen her give anyone. It felt like she could see straight down to his core with that one look. A chill ran down his spine, and Chat knew that he should look away – there were too many secrets that she might uncover. But he was helplessly caught in the depths of those blue eyes.

“I don’t think I could be angry at you right now even if you detransformed or told me your name,” Ladybug said after a moment. “I really don’t deserve you, _Chaton_.”

He blinked. “What?”

Ladybug just smiled. “What did you want to tell me?”

“I… I… I love you.”

It was her turn to blink. Clearly, that wasn’t what she was expecting – which was fair, because Chat hadn’t known he was going to say that until it was out and there was no taking it back. He hadn’t told her that for a long time now. Not since last time, when she’d cried while telling him that she couldn’t return his feelings. More than anything, he hated making Ladybug cry.

Chat looked away. He had to. “I know I shouldn’t say that… you don’t like it. It makes you sad. And I know you’re still in love with someone else. It might seem like I don’t get that, but I do. I just…” He clenched his hand into a fist. “I wish that there was something I could do, you know? Something that would make you want to be mine…”

Another heavy silence fell between them, broken only by the sound of their breathing. Chat stared at a specific light in the distance until his eyes blurred. That was possibly the hardest part of this: knowing that no matter what he did, it was never enough. _He_ was never good enough. He couldn’t be. And it wasn’t fair to put that on Ladybug, but he didn’t know what else to do.

“But I know there’s not,” he said finally when the silence had dragged on for long. “That’s why…”

“That’s why?” Ladybug’s voice was a whisper.

“I want you to be happy. So maybe it’s good that you don’t love me back,” Chat said to the light. “I couldn’t give you what you need. What you want.”

“You don’t know that,” she said. Not angry, or even defensive, or curious, just… sad. Somehow, that was worse. He couldn’t stop himself from twisting to see her.

So much of their partnership was built on non-verbal communication. They knew each other so well that a single look or movement of the body could communicate volumes. But right now, he couldn’t read Ladybug at all. She had never looked at him like that before. Her body language wasn’t closed off, but nor was she open or receptive to what he was saying. She was just… there. Watching. Waiting.

“Yeah, I do,” Chat said with a bitter smile. “I’m asexual.”

He let the word hang out there, waiting to see her reaction. He didn’t even know if she would know what the word meant; two days ago, he hadn’t. If she didn’t, he wasn’t sure that he could sit here and explain it to her. If she did, he was terrified of what she might say. Logically, he knew that Ladybug would not be deliberately cruel. But like everyone, she was sometimes careless with her words… and it would be too easy for her to unintentionally say the wrong thing.

Ladybug looked at him for several seconds, her eyes deep and dark, and then she said, “I’m gray-ace.”

“You… what?” Chat’s mouth fell open.

“Do you know what that means?” Ladybug wanted to know, pulling her legs up against her chest. She curled her toes over the edge of the roof, waiting to hear his answer.

Dumbly, Chat nodded. What were the chances that Marinette and Ladybug were both gray-asexual?

“I thought you might.” She sighed and leaned her cheek on her knees, still staring at him. “I only figured it out recently. I never put much thought into it before, but I like having a label that fits me… even if it makes my life a lot harder.”

“So you… sex?” Chat whispered.

“Maybe,” she said, shrugging one shoulder. “It’s not something that I really need… I mean, I still… you know…” Her cheeks pinked up and she lowered her voice. “Umm… touch myself sometimes. But with someone else? Meh. It’s never been something my heart was set on.”

“That’s… wow.” Chat didn’t know what to say to that. This revelation had thrown him for a loop. 

“So don’t say that,” Ladybug said. “That you can’t give me what I want. Because sometimes I think you could better than everyone else. You love me… that’s all I’ve ever wanted.” Her shoulders slumped and she turned her head, now resting her forehead on her knees. “That boy I told you about? More and more, it seems that might never happen.”

That should have been cause for celebration. But he could never bring himself to be happy about the pain in Ladybug’s voice. Chat wanted to comfort her, but he wasn’t sure that would be welcome. Because maybe she’d interpret it as an advance, and he definitely didn’t want that. So he stayed where he was, confused but sympathetic, and waited for her to continue.

And eventually she did, with a small smile and a whisper that ground the world to a halt: “You’re the _ace_ -ing on the cake, _mon minou_.”

Chat froze. It was like an invisible barrier cracked in that moment. Everything melted away, leaving him floundering for a few second, and then came back into razor-sharp focus just as quickly. For the first time, he felt like he could really _see_ Ladybug. The dark hair, the blue eyes, the petite build. The passion for design, the loyalty to her friends, the delicate artist’s hands. The strength, the kindness, the core of steel. He saw her, and he _knew_.

“I’m a real men- _ace_ ,” he croaked.

Ladybug giggled wetly. “Yeah, you are.”

“Marinette?” he added, because he had to be sure, and she turned to him with tear-bright eyes and another smile.

“Hi Chat.”


	13. Sweethearts

It was Marinette. Ladybug was Marinette. Chat sat there and contemplated every moment in which he’d ever noticed more than a passing resemblance between the two girls and came to the conclusion that he was an idiot. The only saving grace was that he knew Miraculous magic had been at work; Plagg had warned him once that the more he thought about and tried to figure out Ladybug’s identity, the more strained the magic would become, which was why he had always tried _not_ to think about it.

Tonight, the magic had been pushed far enough to break.

Chat exhaled, realizing he could see his breath, and squeezed his eyes shut. “Is this a dream?”

“Um, no,” Ladybug said. “Afraid not.”

Not a dream. Marinette was Ladybug. And if that was the case, then… he cast his mind back over the past couple of days. Last night, Marinette had been talking about a boy who was in love with her; a boy who was a silly flirt; a boy who loved her anyway; a boy that she cared very much about; a boy whose heart she had broken. That was him, he realized with amazement. Chat Noir. It had to be. 

So Marinette was in love with Adrien, who was secretly Chat Noir. Chat was in love with Ladybug, who was secretly Marinette. Both of them had spent the last two days wondering if they should give up on the people they were in love with, never once realizing that they _didn’t have to_. The wonder of the situation settled over Chat’s shoulders and he huffed a laugh.

Never had he imagined that his life could be so turned upside down over the course of a single weekend – or that he would turn out to be so damned happy about it.

“What? What’s so funny?” Ladybug was eyeing him warily, and Chat loved her so much that it felt like a physical ache.

“I was just thinking about how much pain we’ve put ourselves through,” Chat said honestly. All those weeks he’d spent pining over Ladybug and she was closer than he’d ever imagined. Ruefully, he realized that he should have listened to Plagg and let himself fall in love with Marinette. They would’ve both been much better off.

“Oh. Well, I’m glad you find our misery funny because I sure don’t.” She gazed back out at the city. “I meant what I said last night, Chat. You deserve more than being second best. I don’t want to date you just because we’re compatible. And it wouldn’t be fair to date you when I’m still hung up on someone else.”

“Ladybug –”

She rushed over him, not letting him speak. “I know, I know. You’ll say you don’t care and that it doesn’t matter, but you _should_ care because it _does_ matter. So…” She let out a frustrated sigh. “Let me confess to Adrien, okay? Let me get the truth shoved in my face that it’s not going to happen once and for all. I can do it this time. I know I’ve wussed out a bunch of times, but I’ll really do it.” She clenched her hands into fists. “And then… and then once I’m over him… if you still love me…”

“I’ll always love you, My Lady,” Chat said as gently as he could, because it was the truth. He was genuinely touched that she had put so much thought into this, but not surprised. Ladybug had always been too good at putting everyone else first.

“You shouldn’t say that when you don’t really know me,” she muttered, wiping her face. 

“I know everything that I need to, but I’m always interested in learning the rest,” he told her. “But… you should know that you don’t really have to confess to Adrien.”

Naturally, she took that the wrong way. Ladybug shook her head fiercely. “No, Chat! I have to do this. Don’t you see? I’ve been in love with Adrien for the better part of two years now. I’ve never been able to move on; I’m stuck in this place of not knowing. I can’t do anything until he rejects me!”

“What if he didn’t?” Chat asked, curious.

Ladybug froze. “What?”

“What if Adrien didn’t reject you?”

She blinked slowly, as though trying to assimilate that, before frowning. “Why wouldn’t he? In two years, he’s never shown any interest in me. He’s dated other girls, like Kagami. And then… there’s this whole ace thing… I know how important sex is to teenage boys. I have to listen to Alya go on about it all the time. I wouldn’t do that to Adrien. I’d be upfront with him; I wouldn’t want to trap him. He’s a kind person, but no boy is _that_ kind.”

“Unless that boy were like you,” Chat pointed out.

“Yes, but Adrien’s not,” Ladybug said.

“How do you know?”

“I…” Ladybug trailed off, obviously realizing that she didn’t.

“I know,” Chat said quietly. “What Adrien is, I mean. I know he’s asexual. I know he was in the park two nights ago, all wrapped up in knots, until a friend sat down and volunteered to listen.” He couldn’t look at her, staring at the city again. “I know he’s spent the past two days trying to figure out if he should get over Ladybug, if he even _could_ get over Ladybug, and maybe start dating this friend… this beautiful, gentle friend, who deserved better than to be second place…” he swallowed hard. “But maybe… maybe that’s the thing… maybe neither of them is second place. Maybe they’re both first and they just didn’t know it.”

There was a pause during which Chat’s heart seemed to be both trying to stop entirely and race so hard it hurt, before Ladybug’s gloved hand touched his cheek. Her thumb traced the edge of his mask. Then she gently pulled his head around so that their eyes met. Now that he was looking at her, Chat greedily drank in her face and tried to catalogue what she was feeling. Wonder, shock, uncertainty –

“Adrien?” she whispered.

When she said his name, it was like a weight fell from Chat’s shoulders. He nodded. “Yes, it’s me.”

“Oh my –” Ladybug’s other hand rose to cover her mouth. “It’s been you all this time?”

“Yes,” he said again, torn between wanting to laugh at the absurdity of the situation and cry at how overwhelming this was. Anyone passing by from below probably would’ve mistaken them for a pair of sweethearts, never realizing the emotional fragility of the moment.

“It’s you,” Ladybug said. “Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir.” 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug,” he countered, tasting the words for the first time. 

“I can’t… oh, all those things I said to you…” Ladybug groaned and hid her face in her hands. 

“Hey. We’re both in the same boat. I said lots of things to Marinette I wouldn’t have necessarily said to Ladybug,” he said, and then, “Hey! Now I know why Marinette was so encouraging when it came to talking to Ladybug!”

She laughed. “I have to admit, I was a bit insulted when I realized you didn’t want to. I felt like you didn’t trust me.” She sobered, her smile vanishing. “But then I realized how terrible it was. That feeling of thinking you’re going to be rejected for something you have no control over is the worst.”

“It really is,” Chat agreed.

“That wasn’t all of it, though,” Ladybug went on, frowning. “You said… Chat, you do realize I care about you, right? Even before I knew who you were, you were… _are_ my dearest friend. I wanted to keep our identities secret to protect us, but I never wanted you think you couldn’t tell me something so important if you wanted to.”

“I just didn’t want to cross over any lines,” he admitted. “I was never sure where the boundary was.”

Ladybug pursed her lips, then took his hand. She linked their fingers together. “Let’s not have any more of those lines,” she said. “Do you have some time to sit and talk? _Really_ talk, I mean. No more masks.”

“I have all the time in the world,” Chat breathed, feeling like he might cry. Out of relief or gratitude or sheer love for the woman before him, he couldn’t be sure. 

“Me too,” Ladybug said with that same shy smile Marinette always wore. It made his heart flutter. He smiled back, squeezing her hand, feeling lighter than he had in days.


	14. Valentine's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Capping things off with an extra long chapter. Thank you so much for all of the comments and kudos!

As the sun fully crested the horizon, Ladybug lifted her head from Chat’s shoulder. “We should go,” she said regretfully. “My alarm will be going off soon. Maman always pokes her head into my bedroom ten minutes after to make sure I’m up for Alya.”

“Right. I should go too,” Chat said. Yet he found that he didn’t want to. The night had flown by, to the point where he couldn’t believe it was Tuesday morning already. He and Ladybug had spent the whole night talking. No question went unanswered. Chat had even talked about what it was like when his mother first disappeared, and he never spoke about that with anyone.

They had talked about everything… except the obvious.

Now, Ladybug stood and stretched. She rotated her shoulders to ease the stiffness, then turned to him and offered her hand. Chat took it and allowed her to pull him up, realizing that he was pretty stiff too. Miraculous or not, human bodies weren’t really designed to sit in one position for hours on end. It felt good to stretch, and besides he knew any lingering stiffness would be worked out during the run home.

“I’ll see you soon?” Ladybug asked, biting her lip.

Chat nodded. “I’m at school all day today.”

“Good.” She smiled then as she reached for her yoyo. “How about this, I’ll bring some pastries for breakfast and you bring coffee?”

“Deal,” Chat said instantly. He was pretty sure he could talk his bodyguard into stopping at a high-end café that made awesome coffee. This was what, his third night without any sleep? And he was pretty sure the same went for Ladybug. Both of them were going to need caffeine to make it through the day.

“Okay.” She started to pull her arm back. Chat’s hand flashed out and he grabbed her wrist to stop her. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Ladybug’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“I still love you,” Chat blurted out, because he needed her to know that. “I meant what I said earlier. I always will. I don’t know if – well, I don’t know what you want… if this changes anything… but it doesn’t for me.”

For a moment, she just looked shocked. Then a pink blush crept into her cheeks. “I… um, could you detransform?”

Taken aback, Chat nodded. “Uh, sure? Plagg, claws in.”

“You better give me the good quality Camembert for this!” Plagg cried the instant he was out of the ring. “This is kwami abuse!”

“Tikki, spots off,” Ladybug said, rolling her eyes.

“Plagg, stop being so dramatic,” Tikki scolded. “Hi Adrien!”

“Hi Tikki,” Adrien said, a little flustered. By now, he knew for sure that Ladybug and Marinette were one and the same. But seeing it happen right in front of him, that quick flash of light changing red and black spots to red cotton and denim, still left him breathless.

“Hey Pigtails,” Plagg said grumply.

“Hi Plagg,” Marinette said. “Could you guys give us a minute?”

“Sure!” Tikki chirped, literally grabbing Plagg and dragging them away. Adrien was pretty sure he heard a ferocious argument breaking out as the two kwamis went.

“Adrien?”

“Yes?” He turned his attention back to Marinette, shivering a little; even for mid-February, it was colder than he had expected. But if Marinette noticed the chill, she didn’t let on: she stood with her hands clasped behind her back, color still high in her cheeks, but a determined expression on her face.

“I have a crush on you,” she blurted out. “No, wait. Actually, I’m in love with you. I have been for a long time now, but I could never work up the courage to say anything. So I’m saying it now. I love you.”

It felt like a swarm of ladybugs had taken the place of his heart. Adrien had to swallow to get rid of the lump in his throat before he could speak. “I love you too, Marinette.”

Marinette just stood there, eyes closed as though savoring the moment, before she gave a shaky laugh. “Wow. I’ve… I’ve run through this exact scenario so many times in my head. Like, so many times you don’t even know. And never once did I imagine that it would happen like this.”

“Is that bad?” Adrien asked uncertainly.

“No!” Marinette shook her head so hard the ends of her pigtails slapped her face. “It’s good… really good. My best dreams couldn’t measure up to reality.” She smiled. “I can’t believe we got so lucky. That… that we are who we are… and that we’re so compatible, I mean. I was really torn about having to decide between you and Chat Noir.”

“Well, we’re even. I was having a rough time with Marinette and Ladybug,” Adrien said. He remembered how he’d been thinking that it would be so easy to love Marinette. It turned out he’d been right.

She flashed him another smile and went to speak, but Tikki called out, “Marinette, I’m sorry, but it’s after 7:30am.”

“It’s what? Shit!” Adrien squeaked. “Plagg, claws out!”

“Tikki, spots on!”

“I’ll see you at school,” Chat said quickly.

“Wait!” Ladybug said.

He turned. “What?”

Ladybug blushed a bit, but said, “I realized… it’s been a dream of mine that Adrien would say he loved me, so I thought it might be a dream for you to hear it from me.” And she looked him right in the eyes. “I’m in love with you, Chat Noir.”

Then, her face turning as red as her suit as his mouth fell open, she spun on her heel and leapt off the roof. Chat stared after her in dumbstruck silence, watching as she threw out her yoyo at the exact moment necessary to turn her fall into a graceful, controlled swing. Within seconds, she was out of sight and he was standing there with a goofy smile on his face.

At least, until he realized the time. Then he yelped and rushed to get home. He made it in the window and detransformed, shoving Camembert at Plagg and racing into the shower. He had enough time to quickly wash, dress, and style his hair before Nathalie was knocking at his door. She confirmed that he only had fencing practice this afternoon, and then he was out the door and in the car.

It didn’t take much persuasion to get the Gorilla to stop at the café – his bodyguard had a real weakness for their lemon meringue cookies. As Adrien walked in, he noticed that the café was ostentatiously decorated in with multiple pink, white and red hearts. But he still didn’t clue in as to what day it was until he got up to the counter and the barista greeted him thusly:

“Happy Valentine’s Day! What can I get for you?”

“Ah, shit,” Adrien said, and then realized he’d said that to her face. “Ah! N-no! I m-mean – ”

“Forgot it was Valentine’s?” she interrupted with a smirk. “There’s a flower shop across the street.”

“Uh… thanks,” Adrien said. He placed his order for two drinks and then moved aside, glancing out the window. Should he get Marinette something? They hadn’t exactly talked about whether they were dating, but they had professed their love. Surely that meant they were about to start dating? Would she like getting flowers again so soon? He had just brought her some a few nights ago, but they would have a different connotation now.

He debated the whole time he was waiting for his order before making up his mind. He ran the drinks out to the car and then darted across the street. The flower shop was _slammed_ ; apparently, Adrien wasn’t the only one who had forgotten what day it was. He made his selection and waited to pay, then dashed back to the car with his prize clutched in one hand.

Luckily, traffic was minimal so they still got to the school with about twenty minutes to spare. Adrien slung his backpack over his shoulder, tucked the bouquet into the crook of one arm, and picked up the coffees. As he stepped out of the car, he immediately spotted his friends. They were sitting at one of the picnic tables in the yard, with a box from the Dupain-Cheng bakery easily visible. His mouth watered as he quickly walked over.

“Coffee!” Marinette said, perking up.

“Extra large,” Adrien said, handing hers over. Fortunately, he had bought coffee for Ladybug enough times that he knew exactly how she liked it when she was feeling tired: strong and sweet.

“Can we open up the pastries now?” Nino asked.

Alya spoke over him, her eyes zeroing in on the wrapped flowers. “What’s with the gift, Agreste?”

“Ah…” Adrien flushed. Leave it to Alya. He set his coffee down on the table and then awkwardly offered the bouquet to Marinette.

Her eyes widened. Nino’s jaw dropped. Alya gasped and yanked out her phone.

“Marinette, will you go out with me tonight?” Adrien asked, trying hard to ignore the fact that they were being recorded. “I have fencing practice, but if you’d be willing to wait around for me, I’d love to buy you dinner afterwards?” He was suddenly irrationally afraid she’d say no. But Marinette’s face lit up and she nodded eagerly before she even spoke.

“Of course I will. I’d love to go out with you,” she said, gently taking the bouquet. She unwrapped them to reveal a cluster of pink, red and white roses. They’d cost Adrien a fortune, but it was well worth the gorgeous smile that lit up his lady’s face. 

“Holy shit,” Alya said, gawking at the flowers.

Nino whistled softly. “Dude, you sure know how to make the rest of us look bad.” But he smiled as he spoke, and leaned over to gently punch Adrien’s arm in approval.

“They’re beautiful. Thank you, Adrien,” Marinette said, her eyes sparkling. It was a truly happy look that he realized he rarely saw on either Marinette or Ladybug; as he sat next to her, he promised himself that he would do whatever he could to make that look appear more often.

“So, wait, what did I miss?” Alya said suddenly. “Marientte, did you – did you _confess_?!”

“We both did. Turns out we were pining for each other without even knowing it,” Marinette said, winking at Adrien.

“You always said Marinette was just a friend!” Nino exclaimed.

“Well, I wasn’t wrong. She is my friend. I just couldn’t see what else she was,” Adrien said innocently.

“Then what changed?” Alya asked, narrowing her eyes.

“We realized how compatible we are,” Marinette replied. She had already told Chat that she hadn’t talked to Alya about her orientation, and Adrien didn’t think that had changed. He had to hide his grin behind his coffee, knowing that this was going to drive Alya crazy. He and Marinette were going to have to come up with a cover story and soon, before Alya got either of them alone to interrogate.

“How _compatible_ you are?” Alya repeated, sounding baffled. She and Nino exchanged looks. 

“That’s right,” Adrien said contentedly, taking a long sip of his coffee. Marinette opened up the pastry box and offered him one. He took a raspberry tart and bit into it.

“That makes no sense,” Alya said finally.

“But the important thing is that you’re happy,” Nino said firmly.

Alya made a face. “Right, right. Happy. But… I can’t believe you confessed and didn’t tell me first!”

Marinette blushed. “It was a spur of the moment thing. Adrien and I were talking and one thing led to another,” she said, which wasn’t completely a lie.

“We didn’t plan it,” Adrien added, which was the honest truth. He leaned closer to Marinette and let their shoulders lightly bump together. There was still a lot they needed to talk about and figure out – preferably without their best friends sitting across from them – but right now he was the happiest he could ever remember being. 

“I want to see you kiss,” Alya announced, and Adrien choked a bit on his next drink of coffee.

“Alya!” Nino said.

“It’s fine,” Marinette said, sounding only a little nervous. “We’ve kissed before.”

They had? Oh, right. Dark Cupid. And Oblivio. Adrien had almost forgotten about those encounters; he wasn’t sure they counted, because he didn’t remember the kiss during Dark Cupid’s attack and neither of them remembered what had happened during Oblivio – they only knew a kiss had happened because of Alya’s photo. But, he realized now, he and Marinette must’ve figured out their identities and things had proceeded naturally. Even with no memories, they had still loved each other. It was a heartwarming thought.

Marinette turn to him and leaned in, and so did he. Her blue eyes were all he could in the moment before their lips brushed chastely, sending a wave of tingles down Adrien’s spine. She tasted like coffee. Adrien had to put a hand on her knee for balance, less the magnitude of the moment make him topple over completely. When he pulled back, she was smiling. 

“Oh my god, they’re so cute!” Alya said, clutching Nino’s arm.

“Hell yeah we are,” Marinette said. Under the table, she put her hand over Adrien’s and squeezed. Adrien turned his hand over, lacing their fingers together, and took another drink of coffee.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](https://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


End file.
